Donald P. Bellisario

Donald Paul Bellisario

Bellisario at Leap Con, 1993
Born Donald Paul Bellisario
August 8, 1935
Cokeburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Nationality American
Alma mater Pennsylvania State University
Occupation Television producer, screenwriter
Known for Magnum, P.I., Tales of the Gold Monkey, Airwolf, Quantum Leap, JAG, NCIS
Spouse(s) Margaret Schaffran (1956-1974; divorced)
Lynn Halpern (1979-1984; divorced)
Deborah Pratt (1984-1991; divorced)
Vivienne Bellisario (1998-present)
Children Joy Bellisario-Jenkins (b. 1956)
Leslie Bellisario-Ingham (b. 1961)
David Bellisario
Julie Bellisario Watson
Michael Bellisario (b. 1980)
Troian Bellisario (b. 1985)
Nicholas Bellisario
Sean Murray (stepson)
Chad W. Murray (stepson)

Donald Paul Bellisario (born August 8, 1935)[1] is an American television producer and screenwriter who created and sometimes wrote episodes for the TV series Magnum, P.I., Airwolf, Quantum Leap, JAG, and NCIS. He has often included military veterans as characters.

Early life

Bellisario was born in Cokeburg, Pennsylvania[2] to an Italian father, Albert Jethro, and a Serbian mother, Dana (née Lapčević).[1] He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1955 to 1959, attaining the rank of Sergeant.

Bellisario earned a bachelor's degree in journalism at Pennsylvania State University in 1961. In 2001 he was named a Distinguished Alumnus—the highest honor bestowed on a graduate of Penn State. In 2006, Bellisario endowed a $1 million Trustee Matching Scholarship in the Penn State College of Communications. He recalled:

Growing up in a hardscrabble western Pennsylvania coal mining town, I know first hand the sacrifices that are made to give a son or daughter a university education…and as a Marine veteran who returned to Penn State with two small children and little money, I remember all too well that struggle. It's my hope that this scholarship will also ease the financial burden of other young men and women who have defended our country to attain their academic goals.[3]

Bellisario became an advertising copywriter in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1965, and three years later became creative director of the Bloom Agency in Dallas, Texas. After rising to senior vice president after eight years, he then moved to Hollywood to pursue screenwriting and production.[2]

Television career

After working under such television producers as Glen A. Larson and Stephen J. Cannell, Bellisario adopted some of their production techniques, for example, using a small pool of actors for his many productions. He created or co-created the TV series Magnum, P.I., Airwolf, Quantum Leap,[4] JAG, and NCIS. He was a writer and producer on Black Sheep Squadron and the original Battlestar Galactica. He wrote and directed the 1988 feature film Last Rites.[5]

Many of Bellisario's protagonists are current or former members of the United States armed forces. Tom Selleck's character in Magnum, P.I., Thomas Magnum, who was a United States Naval Academy graduate, former SEAL officer and Vietnam veteran; Jan-Michael Vincent's character Stringfellow Hawke, a top helicopter combat pilot in Airwolf, also a Vietnam veteran and is still looking for his brother who is missing in action; Commander Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr., the main character of JAG, who is also a Naval Academy graduate and former Naval Aviator looking for his father who is missing in action from the Vietnam War; and NCIS's main character, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, who is a retired Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant and Scout Sniper.

In Tales of the Gold Monkey, Jake Cutter (Stephen Collins) was an ex-Flying Tigers pilot. The other lead in Quantum Leap, former Naval Aviator, Vietnam prisoner of war and retired Rear Admiral Albert "Al" Calavicci, was. Another connection that some of his main characters have is August 8 birthdays.

Bellisario received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004, which was shown in the Season 9 JAG episode, "Trojan Horse". In an interview with Sci-Fi Channel in the late 1990s, Bellisario said he was inspired to create Quantum Leap in 1988 after reading a novel about time travel. His service alongside John F. Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was the basis for the Quantum Leap fifth season double-length episode "Lee Harvey Oswald" (originally aired September 22, 1992).

Bellisario retired in 2007, after widely reported tension with star Mark Harmon ended with the former's departure from NCIS. Although he retains the title of executive producer, he has not had any creative or executive involvement with NCIS since then. Bellisario later sued CBS over the creation of NCIS: Los Angeles, arguing his contract with the network entitled him to the first rights to create any NCIS spin off, as well as some share of profits from the new show. The suit was settled before trial in 2011 for an undisclosed amount.[6] Bellisario's production company was named "Belisarius Productions" after the Roman general Belisarius, of which "Bellisario" is an Italian-language variant.

Television series created

Years Title Notes
1980–1988 Magnum, P.I.
1982–1983 Tales of the Gold Monkey
1984–1987 Airwolf
1989–1993 Quantum Leap
1992 Tequila and Bonetti
1995–2005 JAG
2002 First Monday
2003–present NCIS Spin-off from JAG

Personal life

Bellisario married Margaret Schaffran in 1956 and they divorced in 1974. They had four children: Joy Bellisario-Jenkins (born c. 1956), Leslie Bellisario-Ingham (born c. 1961), David Bellisario (producer on NCIS: Los Angeles), and Julie Bellisario Watson (producer on NCIS).[5]

Bellisario married Lynn Halpern, in 1979 and they divorced in 1984. They had a son, Michael Bellisario, on April 7, 1980 (had a recurring role as Midshipman Michael Roberts on JAG and played Charles "Chip" Sterling on NCIS).[5]

He married Deborah Pratt, in 1984 and they divorced in 1991. They had two children: Troian (born October 28, 1985) and Nicholas (born August 27, 1991). Troian portrayed Sarah McGee on NCIS, Teresa on Quantum Leap, Erin on JAG, and (since June 2010) Spencer Hastings on Pretty Little Liars.[5]

Bellisario married Vivienne, on November 27, 1998. He gained two stepsons from the marriage: Chad and Sean Murray, the latter an actor who plays Timothy McGee on NCIS.[5]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Donald Bellisario profile at". Filmreference.com. August 8, 1935. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Donald Paul Bellisario". Universal Television via Quantum Leap official site (Sci Fi Channel). Archived from the original on July 12, 2006.
  3. ↑ "Bellisario's $1 million gift endows scholarships in College of Communications". Penn State University. October 2, 2006. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  4. ↑ O'Connor, John J. (November 22, 1989). "Review/Television; An Actor's 'Quantum Leap' Through Times and Roles". The New York Times. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Donald P. Bellisario at the Internet Movie Database
  6. ↑ Deadline.com

External links